Sex

 Maybe it’s always been this way in one form or another. Maybe we are starting to face some issues honestly that have been long in coming. The one I have been thinking about because of recent news—and thinking about with some trepidation and ambiguity—is sexual harassment.

Men have dominated and manipulated women sexually for eons. The male is a sexual animal programmed by evolution. But the male as human being must be sexually educated and responsible, even beyond any legal considerations. Men must have a clear understanding of the consequences of their sexual behavior.

We’ve chosen to live in a society sexually charged in its music, fashion, entertainment, pornography, marketing. It even reaches to, and begins, in middle school. The sexual messaging affects males and females alike as it is manifested in wardrobe, body sculpting, makeup, media choices and behavior. 

Throughout history, women have used sex as a path to power as a consequence of the overt power of men. Cultural messages for women reinforce feminine dress as revealing and even provocative. Conscious or not, in this culture, these can be erotic triggers for men in situations in which women may see no sexual impropriety.

This creates one more situation in which an appeal to law is unpredictable at best. The answer is found in education, honest discussion, responsible decision making and personal accountability.